Principal Animator – UE5 at AAA Sports Game Studio
Company: AAA Sports Game Development Studio
Location: Beverly Hills, CA, United States
Job Type: Full-Time (On-site)
Salary: Not Disclosed
About the Studio
This opportunity is posted by Reval Recruiting on behalf of a AAA sports game development studio building the next generation of professional football (soccer) experiences using Unreal Engine 5. The team is focused on delivering high-fidelity gameplay and broadcast-quality presentation, with an emphasis on realistic character motion and next-generation animation systems.
Job Overview
The Principal Animator – UE5 will lead the creation of high-quality, realistic character animations for a cutting-edge sports title. This role requires deep animation expertise, strong technical fluency in Unreal Engine 5, and the ability to elevate animation quality across the team.
You will work closely with cross-functional partners to refine animation systems, improve workflows, and ensure that character motion meets the highest standards of realism and performance.
Key Responsibilities
- Create and execute high-level character animations for gameplay and cinematic presentation.
- Implement and refine in-game animation systems within Unreal Engine 5.
- Collaborate with technical teams to enhance animation pipelines and workflows.
- Mentor and guide animators, providing clear and actionable feedback.
- Maintain quality, consistency, and alignment with the project’s visual style.
- Raise animation standards across the team and contribute to production milestones.
Required Qualifications
- 7+ years of professional animation experience in games.
- At least 2 years in a leadership or mentoring capacity.
- Strong portfolio demonstrating high-quality game animation work.
- Experience shipping high-performance console and/or PC titles.
- Hands-on expertise with Maya, MotionBuilder, Unreal Engine 5, and motion capture workflows.
- Strong understanding of real-time animation systems and in-game implementation.
- Excellent communication and cross-disciplinary collaboration skills.
- Ability to work under pressure and meet tight production deadlines.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience working on sports titles.
- Familiarity with production tools such as ShotGrid and Jira.
Why Join?
- Work on a next-generation AAA sports simulation title in Unreal Engine 5.
- Shape realistic character animation systems at a high level.
- Collaborate with a talented team focused on broadcast-quality presentation.
- Opportunity to lead, mentor, and elevate animation craft across the studio.